


By Surprise

by Yeah_Im_A_Streetlight



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events (TV)
Genre: But he does die later on, F/M, Jacques doesn't die IN this fic, Mentions of the Baudelaires and the Quagmires, Not a Sad Fic, Sweet, The (too short) story of Jacques and Olivia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-04-11
Packaged: 2019-04-21 09:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14282262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeah_Im_A_Streetlight/pseuds/Yeah_Im_A_Streetlight
Summary: "As little time as he had left, he knew that his path would always lead to Olivia.And even if it meant living- which he had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn’t be able to do- he wouldn’t change a thing."Or, the (too short) story of Jacques and Olivia.





	By Surprise

It wasn’t like he’d never seen love before. He’d watched as his siblings fell madly for a mixture of the right and wrong people. He himself had loved a few women, but more often than not he found himself pushing them away.

“Jacques Snicket,” Kit had always joked years ago, “the most unconventional outcast of the unconventional outcasts.”

She was technically wrong, he supposed. It wasn’t that he didn’t want a traditional life. He’d always wanted children, or maybe a wife- anyone he could trust completely, which was scarce in his position. 

The ones he’d loved were always in the way of the safety of the world- they always lacked a certain dignity, a nobility and knowledge of the world needed to shape the perfect person, in his own opinion.

So he settled for being Jacques Snicket- bold, brave. The cab driver. The VFD member for longer than anyone could remember. It was a good position, a noble one.

He should have been warned when, as he and Larry sped away from Prufrock Prep, a name was mentioned. A stunning librarian, something of the sort; he hadn’t really been listening, always more focused on the greater good, the saving of the world, and everything else that had driven him to join the VFD in the first place, all those years ago.

But he should’ve known that his days of being madly in love would be short, and it would’ve helped if the woman who completed him perfectly hadn’t been exactly what he was looking for. Maybe it would’ve helped him die more easily.

When he’d gotten a call, telling him that there was a pick up to be made, a possible new recruit, he really hadn’t anticipated the whirlwind that swept him off his feet before throwing him violently to his grave.

There is a certain light that can be found in a person, a desire to help the world at all costs- it was a scarce light. It had been there in his siblings, in his friends, in all the people he had admired. 

When he screeched to a halt near the curb, almost hitting the woman in front of him, though, he would be quick to defend himself, he hadn’t actually hit her, he could see that she was the kind of person who would do anything to save the world.

If only he’d known just how true it would turn out to be.

Olivia was unlike anyone he’d ever known. She wasn’t timid, wasn’t afraid of anything, it seemed, and he fell more in love with her in every motion, every perfectly planned idea, every time she touched him. It was the little things- the way she grabbed his shoulder at the warning to hold on to something sturdy, the startled but pleased look in her eyes as he pulled her towards him with the climbing rope, the determination in her at saving the Quagmires and the Baudelaires. She would stop at nothing. She was perfect. 

He couldn’t stop himself from flirting with her, either, which he was ashamed to admit.

You’ve never been anything but professional, Jacques, he said to himself angrily as they drove away from the ashes of the Baudelaire mansion, Olivia silent next to him. Don’t ruin that now. Train her, help her, and then she’ll be gone.

Still, he couldn’t deny how proud he felt when he made her blush, or smirk, or look down to hide a smile.

“I want to join.”

Jacques started out of his daze, turning with raised eyebrows to the woman sitting next to him. (He had to say he admired the way she had promptly moved to the front of the cab- she was apparently not one for positions of hierarchy, and, though he’d never seen the trait exhibited, it could be a useful one for an agent.)

“Sorry?”

“I said, I want to help. I want to join V.F.D.”

“A-Are you sure? I mean, it’s very dangerous, and I wouldn’t want you to get… hurt…” He looked down, embarrassed at the weakness he’d let rise. 

“I met five children, some of the nicest and brightest I’ve ever known, and they are being chased by… by a murderous arsonist and his theater troupe. Among others. I’m going to help,” she said with a steely gaze at him, “and I’m willing to get hurt. Just as long as the children are safe.”

“Okay,” he said, slightly taken aback, “Of course. Yes. Let me just-,” Jacques shuffled through his wallet, searching for the dusty picture he hadn’t taken out in years. When he found it, he placed into Olivia’ hands.

“What-,”

“When recruiting a volunteer… officially, of course… it’s- it’s strange, but- their taxi driver has to show them a photo of a baby.”

“Okay,” her voice trailed off slightly, “I’ve seen it. Now can we please, please, get to that wretched auction, buy the box with the Quagmires, find the Baudelaires, and get out?”

“Of course,” Jacques said, and he stepped on the gas pedal. Olivia was very immersed in her auction catalogue, which was good, he reasoned, because she wouldn’t see him blush.

He’d never seen the insecurity of someone getting hurt present in him before. He was a part of a secret organization. People were hurt every day. What was it about Olivia that made him so-

He decided not to finish the sentence, and instead to speed up, as Olivia was anxiously creasing the corner of the catalogue, tapping her foot and staring hopefully out the window.

..

Everything was happening so fast. He couldn’t keep track of his thoughts as the bids flew higher and higher on the cardboard box, the letters VFD scrawled hastily onto the surface. He knew Olivia was panicking near him, because he heard her rapid breathing.

“One thousand dollars.” 

That was it. It was over. There was no way anyone would bid higher than that on a box. Please, he thought to himself. Please.

And then the time seemed to speed up, and someone was stabbing the box open, and it was full of…

Doilies. 

And the first thought that fell into his mind was red herring. 

But suddenly, people were moving. He saw the Baudelaires on stage, and Jacquelyn and Larry, and he saw the surge stampeding towards him, moving to another hall.

He swore under his breath, turned to face Olivia.

“We’ve got to go,” he said quickly, “we’ve got to go after the Quagmires. They’re-,”

“In the red herring. I know. I figured it out. But don’t you think we should go and get the Baudelaires first? Get them away from that horrible blond woman?”

“You’re… right,” Jacques said slowly, considering his options. But they were already being pulled with the others, and as one may know, it is more difficult to swim against the tide than to follow it. 

Suddenly, he felt a hand grab his; Olivia, Olivia was holding his hand, and for a moment all thoughts of orphans and fires and VFD and Olaf flew from his mind and he could focus only on the hand that held his as they fought against the grain. 

He turned his head, looking down at her- he wasn’t too much taller than her, but still- and she smiled back at him. 

In the worst possible circumstances, it was the best thing he could’ve thought of.

..

Usually, in his limited past experiences, after he had kissed someone, or held hands with them, or something of the sort, it had been awkward to see them again. Not because he loved them immensely, more because he felt guilty and wrong. 

And so he worried about the long journey to the village of VFD (which was where the Baudelaires would be relocating to, according to the coughing banker). She would probably want one of them to move to the back, and he’d be more than happy to do that- but he couldn’t stand the thought of losing a friend.

Because, despite knowing Olivia for the better part of several hours, he felt a connection.

Luckily for him, though, there was no tension. At all, which really hadn’t been what Jacques had expected.

Instead, Olivia slipped into the passenger seat (“Are you sure you don’t want to drive?” “No, Jacques, for the last time- you’re a much better driver than someone who hasn’t tried since they were seventeen.” “You could always try to learn it again!” “If it’s been more than ten years, I think it’s off the table.”). They smiled at each other again.

“You know, it’s a very long drive to the village. If you want to turn on some music or something, I wouldn’t mind-,”

“Jacques.”

“Really! Don’t feel pressured to sit in silence for the next day because I have no taste.”

“Jacques. I want to talk to you.”

This was the kind of statement that made him fall in love with her.

But it was so soon. He’d known her no more than six hours. It was completely absurd. He pushed the thought down, despite how it nagged at his brain.

“Okay. About what?”

“Tell me everything I’d need to know to make up for all the years I didn’t know you.”

“That’d take a while.”

“I thought we had a long trip,” she said, eyebrows raised, a smirk dancing on her lips.

He laughed. “I suppose you’re right,” he replied as he pulled the car out, screeching the tires on the pavement, to follow the van with the red fish on top.

“At least it’s easy to follow,” Olivia commented.

“Yes. Subtlety is not Olaf’s strong suit.”

He felt her hand flit onto his shoulder, and he jumped.

“Okay, don’t drive us off the road, now,” Oliva deadpanned, “and don’t try to dodge the whole life story. If you tell yours, I’ll tell mine. Although yours is more interesting.”

“I highly doubt that someone like you could have had a boring life.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Well, it produced the most interesting person I’ve ever met,” Jacques shrugged, “so you may want to reconsider.”

.. 

They’d pulled their car over on the side of the road. They’d tried searching for a hotel, a motel, even a gas station- any sort of hint that they were near civilization- but there was no such luck. Olivia somehow managed to find a lever in the cab he’d never known existed, which reclined their seats back so they could sleep.

“We really should be keeping watch,” he told her, trying to hide a yawn.

“You,” she replied, smiling, “have clearly not slept in a week. If anyone’s keeping watch, it’s me.”  
“But you need to rest, too!” he protested, “I’m not going to watch you exhaust yourself tomorrow!”

“Olaf is a selfish man. He’s not going to travel after dark- he’ll want sleep. The banker and the children might get to VFD before us, but they should be fine there for a few hours before we arrive with Olaf, get the Quagmires, and get out.”

She was right.

“I’m right, aren’t I,” she said to him, a cutely superior smirk gracing her features.

“I didn’t say that,” he said.

“Too much pride,” she muttered teasingly.

“Fine, you’re right. You’re right! You’re always right,” he laughed, and they giggled together as they fell back into their reclining seats.

“I’ve got to say,” Olivia told him, rolling onto her side, “VFD is probably the best thing to ever happen to me. Clearly, it’s because of the hero aspect. But without it, I never would’ve met you, and so far, you’re the best person to -,”

He cut her off as he leaned forward and kissed her, trapping the end of the sentence between them. He closed his eyes, because everything around him was starting to make sense, and his purpose seemed to rain down on him.

When they broke off, there was a magic lingering, and he realized that some things were meant to move quickly, or they wouldn’t move at all.

They lay together silently, Olivia breathing next to him, and it was perfect. 

She touched his cheek. “What’s wrong?”

She’d somehow known.

“Nothing. Really. It’s just... I’m sad.”

“About?”

“You. Me. Us. Everything. I just... I’m not good luck. I ruin things, I ruin people. And with the whole-,”

“Rescuing kidnapped orphans thing?” She answered, smiling lopsidedly. “I get it. I really do. I worked in a library for half my life- I don’t exactly bring in the admirers.”

“Don’t say that.”

“Don’t say you repel people, either. You didn’t repel me.”

“Well, it’s hard to repel someone like you.”

“This is getting sappy,” Olivia said, but she sounded slightly pleased, “let’s just settle at this.”

“Great,” Jacques replied, flipping onto his side so he was face to face with Olivia, “I was getting bored with the self deprecation anyway.” And he pressed his mouth to hers again.

..

But he should’ve known.

“You always push it just a little over the line,” Kit had said on one occasion, “and then everything blows up in your face.”

“Sometimes literally,” he’d responded.

“Sometimes literally. But you need to stop doing that. When things are going well, don’t push it. Just get the hell out of there, before you mess something up.

He should’ve remembered that when Olaf was locked in the deluxe cell. He should’ve known that telling Olaf he would call the police, telling him he’d be locked away- he should’ve known to take Olivia, take the children, and, as Kit had so eloquently said, get the hell out.

Instead, he was in this situation, where he was locked in a cell, Olivia beside him, listening to Count Olaf and Esme Squalor be interviewed upstairs.

And now, in a shocking turn of events, he was going to be burned at the stake..

He could tell Olivia was pacing beside him.

“Talk to me,” he said to her.

In the ride to the village, they had talked for hours, and he felt like they’d known each other for years, not days. With everything he learned about Olivia, he began to fall in love with her more and more.

He only hoped she felt the same.

And so they talked again, bars blocking their path to one another. While he mulled that phrase over in his head, he realized it was true. 

As little time as he had left, he knew that his path would always lead to Olivia.

And even if it meant living- which he had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn’t be able to do- he wouldn’t change a thing.

That was enough.

..

When Esme let them out of their cells, whispering to hurry up, and that she’d only ever done this for the sugar bowl, and that it was nothing about liking them- “because trust me, anyone who’d do that is certainly not the type I associate with,”- he knew immediately something was wrong.

“I’ll hold up Olaf,” Esme flipped her hair, walking back upstairs.

“Thank you, we-,” Olivia started, but faltered when Jacques grabbed her hand. 

“We have to go. Now.”

They raced outside together.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I had to tell her where it was, it was the only thing I could think of-,”

“It’s okay. I swear. We just have to get to it before they do. Here’s what I think you should-,”

He was interrupted by a howl from upstairs.

“Where are the keys!?”

“He knows,” Olivia began to panic, “Oh, my goodness, he knows.”

 

While he was sure he still saw Esme holding Olaf up as he attempted to run down the stairs- “Just one kiss, darling, I thought you said you loved me! Who cares about those orphans, anyway, we’ve found the sugar bowl!”- he stopped Olivia outside his cab.

“You need to go. Please.”

“But-,”

“I have to stay. I’ll get the children. Please, just get away from this place.”

“Where?” She replied. He could tell she was almost hysterical, but was keeping her composure.

He scanned his mind before it stopped on an idea. “The Caligari Carnival. Find Madame Lulu. I guarantee she’ll know how to help.”

“Okay. Okay.” she shook her head once, as though clearing it of fear, and said, “Jacques, promise me you’ll rescue them.”

“Of course.”

“And you be safe out there, Jacques Snicket,” she said softly.

He couldn’t promise anything. Instead he replied simply, “You too, Olivia Caliban,” he replied, “and- hey, I know this is really, really soon, and I swear I never do this, but… I think I love you.”

“I think I love you, too, Jacques,” she replied softly, and suddenly they were kissing.

And as he saw her drive off into the distance- not too fast, because despite being a hero now, there were a few perfect people who would always abide the speed limit- he didn’t know if he would see her again. The kiss lingered still on his lips, and for a second, he saw Olivia turn around. Their eyes met. There was a second of understanding, and she closed her eyes slightly, bracingly, heartbreakingly, before opening them to stare deep into his eyes one last time. It was a real goodbye. He couldn’t promise anything. Hadn’t been able to for years. And he felt his heart smash in a way it never had before. 

Before a tear could roll down his face, he pressed his fingers to his lips, to where Olivia’s kiss was fading, and whispered the last line of that lifesaving poem he’d memorized upon joining the VFD.

And he’d always known what he had to do. A person intent on rescuing had no time for themselves. He only hoped Olivia would be alright, because of course she would, he thought to himself as he turned away from the fading yellow spot, she was strong, and smart, and incredible. She could do anything.

He once had been able to do anything, when he was a teenager, not so many years ago, but he’d seen things now. 

So he turned to accept his destiny, the fate of death which plagued everyone, but not before staring one last time as the love of his life, he was sure, rolled off into the future. And as always, he reminded himself as he walked through that wretched town- as always, the world is quiet here. 

..


End file.
